Summary: Cover Letters

Key takeaways#

• A cover letter accompanies the resume and allows you to highlight your skills, qualifications, and experience to potential employers. It consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion to convince the employer that you are the ideal candidate for the job.

• ChatGPT can assist in improving the cover letter's structure, wording, and overall content, providing instant feedback to ensure it's polished and professional. The following tips can help in crafting an effective cover letter: keeping it clear and concise, personalizing it for each job, highlighting achievements, conveying confidence and positivity, and proofreading carefully to avoid errors.

• Using ChatGPT to generate cover letters involves following a process that includes providing a generic prompt, evaluating the generated cover letter, making improvements based on suggestions, personalizing the prompt with job-specific information, and iterating to refine the cover letter.

• ChatGPT can generate a tailored cover letter highlighting technical expertise and achievements by incorporating job descriptions and personal information. Reviewing and editing the generated content before final use is important because ChatGPT may not always be entirely accurate.

• ChatGPT can optimize cover letters to help them stand out in the job application process. For entry-level roles, prompts should emphasize educational background, transferable skills, learning mindset, relevant projects or coursework, industry-specific knowledge, and seeking feedback.

• Mid-career level cover letters should highlight relevant experience, leadership and management skills, industry knowledge, professional development, quantifiable achievements, and industry-specific technologies or tools.

• For senior-level positions, prompts should emphasize leadership and strategic thinking, extensive experience and achievements, and thought leadership and innovation, as well as tailor the tone and style to reflect seniority.

• Optimizing prompts for specific industries or job roles can improve the quality and relevance of ChatGPT's output. Include industry-specific terminology, desired qualifications, and skills, provide context and details, mention desired outcomes or goals, and seek a specific tone or style. Iterate and refine the prompt as needed.

  • For example, in a prompt for a marketing role, specify desired skills, highlight experience in developing and implementing marketing strategies, emphasize proficiency in market research and data-driven decision-making, and showcase other marketing-specific skills. Indicate in the prompt that the cover letter must convey a professional and persuasive tone.